Recent reviews by MissingSeven

I’ve been using RPG Maker for ages, and after thousands of hours in MZ, I feel pretty confident saying it’s the best version I’ve used so far. It’s a direct upgrade to MV with plenty of great quality-of-life improvements. It’s accessible for beginners, yet offers tons of depth for complex systems.
My only real issue with it is that to push the engine to a truly high level, you still rely heavily on external plugins, even for features that really should be built into the base software by today's standards.
Either way, I highly recommend it, though if you're just looking to pick it up as a casual hobby, it might be worth waiting for a sale.

I enjoyed the demo, and I wishlisted the game! The game immediately stands out thanks to its BioShock vibes. The atmosphere is one of the demo's strongest elements for me. The inclusion of a grappling hook is also a welcome feature. Even if it's limited to fixed points, grappling mechanics are almost always satisfying to use, but... (see negatives below)
The story premises are okay for now. I won't comment on the story since it's just the beginning. The hook works, though.

There are, however, several areas that could be refined. The stamina system for sprinting feels somewhat unnecessary and doesn't seem to add anything meaningful gameplay-wise.

The use of the backspace key to exit the upgrade menu is unusual, especially when more standard options like Esc or Spacebar could be used.

Economy balance may also need adjustment. In the demo, it's possible to unlock almost every upgrade very quickly. The only one I couldn't unlock was the extended magazine for the machine gun. This reduces the sense of progression.

The harpoon causes excessive camera shake, which can become uncomfortable and may even trigger motion sickness for some players.

In the long term, combat variety could also become an issue. In BioShock, for example, Plasmids help diversify encounters beyond standard weapons. Additional combat mechanics or environmental hazards could help keep encounters fresh. It's unclear whether more environmental obstacles are planned for later levels, but their inclusion could significantly improve encounter design.

Overall, I really liked this demo for its aesthetics and vibes, but some balancing and mechanical refinements would definitely strengthen the final experience.
The Donald-ducky enemy is genuinely memorable. Probably the thing I liked the most of the demo haha!
Keep up the good work! I'm looking forward to play the complete game!

Pros:
+ Beautiful aesthetics
+ Adorable, highly customizable pigeons
+ Fun puzzles that never become too cryptic
+ Light but intriguing narrative
+ Side activities (newspaper minigames, photographs...)

Cons:
- Many bugs and glitches
- Lacking QoL features (pigeon name toggles, bench directions... )
- Controls often conflict with each other
- Flashback scenes can be a bit confusing and hard to follow

The Bench is a game I genuinely enjoyed. Its strongest points are the lovely aesthetics and the light yet intriguing narrative. The pigeons are absolutely delightful, and being able to customize them with cosmetics makes each of them feel unique. The puzzles are fun and grow in complexity without ever becoming cryptic. The side activities (like the light puzzles in the newspaper) are also really charming.

Unfortunately, the game suffers from a noticeable lack of polish and several bugs. Some QoL improvements would help a lot: for instance, showing the benches’ facing direction on the map to make navigation easier. Towards the end of the game, the screen gets so cluttered with pigeon name tags that I sometimes couldn’t even see a bench, which actually blocked my progress. A toggle for name visibility would be extremely useful.

The controls also conflict quite often: more than once I picked up a pigeon while I was trying to throw another one, and one time I even threw a pigeon at an NPC instead of talking to them, sending it past a railing and forcing me to reset the map.
Other issues include:
- “!” subquest icons reappearing when reloading the game even after the quests are completed.
- Flashback scenes being very confusing, with text boxes fixed on models that move between each “slide”, making the story hard to follow.
- In the last level, some benches started already unlocked, which misled me into thinking I had to interact with those areas sooner than intended, long before obtaining the B-Link.

All in all, the game is a very charming and enjoyable, but it's riddled with small bugs and glitches that undermine the overall experience and may cause some players to lose focus or motivation.
It also features Twitch integrations that look fantastic on paper (though I couldn’t try them), and it has huge meme/community potential. If you don't mind minor glitches and bugs, you will love this game. I hope the devs will polish it, though.

Pros:
+ Solid and responsive combat system
+ Good level design for the most part
+ Boss fights are challenging but never frustrating
+ No boss runbacks (huge plus for me)

Cons:
-Limited variety in environments and enemies (lots of recycling)
-Locked into the bad ending: need a new playthrough for other endings
-You'll need a guide if you don't want to replay the game

I really enjoyed this game. The combat system feels solid and responsive, challenging without ever being frustrating, and the complete absence of boss runbacks is a blessing for me.
I liked the setting and the character and monster designs, though there's not much variety in the environments or enemies, as many are reused. The plot/narrative is ok, but I admit that I did not pay much attention to it (my bad).
The level design stood out to me: not always inspired, but consistently well-crafted. Some boss fights are great: tough enough to be satisfying, but never annoying.
Overall, it's an underrated game. Not a masterpiece, but definitely an experience I'd recommend to soulslike fans who enjoy exploration more than punishing difficulty.

One major downside is that I got stuck with the bad ending and now have to start a new playthrough to see the others. I'll probably do a NG+ or fresh run with a guide. For those who don't want to replay the game multiple times, I recommend following a guide from the start to see all the content in one run, though it will come at the cost of a more intriguing blind experience.

EDIT: I completed all achievements in NG+2. One complaint about the endings: nothing in the game tells you about the point of no return. I practically missed the true ending in my first playthrough because I didn't find Ursula. Maybe a warning before Loskid could've helped. Anyway that was a fun experience overall!

I'd been wanting to play Enotria for a while, but I was aware of its technical issues (especially the crashes), so I decided to wait a bit before giving it a try. Unfortunately, I'm disappointed to see that even after a year, those issues still haven’t been fixed. It also seems that the developers have stopped releasing updates or improvements, since they're apparently working on a new project (correct me if I'm wrong, but the last update I can see is from March).
I played as much as I could, but now both of my save files won't load anymore due to a recurring Fatal Error. I've looked up and tried several possible fixes, but none of them worked.
It's a shame, because for the first hour or so, I really enjoyed the art direction and level design. The rest felt a bit janky, but tolerable. However, with the constant crashes, I just can’t keep playing until things are fixed (so, probably never).
A game that could have been “okay” but is rendered unplayable by its technical problems.

Despite the game being rather unpolished, I had a lot of fun. The combat system is fast and satisfying, and you can feel Corvus's progression as he becomes stronger, obtaining new abilities and secondary weapons. The boss fights are great, although the first boss might be a bit too challenging, but I liked it both aesthetically and mechanically.

Unfortunately, there is little enemy variety, and the level design is confusing and monotonous. In any case, I recommend it to fans of fast-paced action/souls games like Sekiro and Bloodborne.

I had a blast playing Gravity Circuit. I have a few issues with this game, but overall it was a really good experience. I recommend it to all players who love Megaman and platformers in general!

Pros:
+ Great level and boss design.
+ Fast and responsive commands.
+ Art style, graphics and animations are top notch.

Cons:
- I didn't like the run button. In this game you'll sprint 99% of time. Maybe a faster standard speed + dash button would've been better?
- Melee attacks' range is reeeeally short. Melee range powerup is practically mandatory.

Overall I really really enjoyed it and I managed to collect everything and see both endings in about 4-5 hours. Not a very long game (in a good way), there are a few hiccups here and there, but it's definitely worth your time!

TLDR
+ Clever puzzles
+ Nice atmosphere and graphics
+ Dynamic music that changes when you change shape
+ Good sense of exploration with interconnected locations
+ Overall lore and story is ok, but...

- Dialogues need some tweaks (I played the italian version)
- Story parts and resolutions can feel a bit rushed
- (minor nitpick) Sometimes it can be a little tedious to backtrack due to the forms limitations

The main attractiveness of this game is clearly its puzzle mechanics. Some abilities might seem uninspired (Flash and Ice are my least favorites) but everything else combined is really stimulating and satisfying to play. The game makes you combine all Nora's forms and abilities in various ways to keep you engaged, and I really appreciated the exploration sections that I can summarize with "simple metroidvania" style. To collect everything, you have to unlock all the skills and combine them to reach hidden locations and find all the stuff you need to see the true ending. Luckily, the game gives you a map to track item locations, so you can focus on the puzzle-solving part.
I liked the atmosphere and graphic style too. This, mixed with the dynamic music system, grants an immersive experience. The mysterious halls of the castle, the mausoleum, the graveyard, the scarlet tower... every location feels unique while also maintaining a consistent aesthetic. My favourites are the secret optional locations.
The world's lore is quite interesting: you have to get everything to connect all the dots and discover the whole picture. The only big stain in the overall experience, alas, it's the writing itself. Dialogues can feel a bit off and there are some errors here and there. (They can obviously be fixed in time)
Some story parts and the general pacing could have been done better.

In conclusion, I recommend this game if you like puzzles and exploration. It can be a perfect game for a weekend gaming session (you can complete it in less than 5 hours) and the positives far outweigh the negatives. So, totally worth it!

+ Very nice and retro-style pixel art
+ Clever puzzles
+ Very fast and responsive

- A bit too short
- Lack of music while exploring (I don't know if it's a bug)

Overall I really enjoyed it but I feel it can be a little short for a paid game.
I finished it in about 40-45 minutes. Maybe a deeper story and a more present environmental music (and sound effects) could've helped the game to feel more immersive. Good job anyway : )

I just finished the prologue and I really enjoyed it! So I made a second attempt to get the last achievement :)
It's a rather short game (in a good way) that introduces you to the main mechanics and offers you fair challenges with simple puzzles to get you in the game, followed by some more hard and tough ones.
At first, it can be hard to remember that you actually have to die to progress, but once you grasp this mechanic, the games goes on smoothly. I really want to know the full story and overcome the challenges that Soul's Spectrum will throw at me, so I'll definitely play the full game once it's released!
I recommend this one to the players that like clever puzzle games mixed with exploration and a thrilling story.
Looking forward to the full game. Good job : )